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Dickey’s Barbecue Pit in La Quinta was too hot to handle and will consequentially now be closed until at least mid-September.

The Riverside County Department of Environmental Health shut down the restaurant, citing unhealthy heat conditions. The restaurant is barred from reopening until the owners fix the broken air-conditioning unit, according to a county investigation report.

The department inspected the restaurant, at 79775 Highway 111, following an emailed complaint filed on July 30.

When Inspector Tiffany Su headed out to the restaurant that day, she observed that the facility was extremely hot, ranging in temperature from 90 to 100 degrees. Her report noted that many customers complained about the heat and walked out.

Su also noted that only one worker was there at the time of the inspection and was “perspiring while cutting meat.” According to the worker, the air conditioning hadn’t been working for about a month.

The walk-in cooler doors also were open, and food wasn’t at the proper temperature.

The Department of Environmental Health immediately shut down the restaurant but didn’t hear back from the restaurant operator until Aug. 7, when a representative of Tucker Family Restaurants LLC, the owner, emailed back to say the restaurant was still closed. On Aug. 20, the operator confirmed that the restaurant would remain closed until the A/C was repaired and was hopeful that the restaurant would open by mid-September. The health department will follow up again at that time.